Our goal is to gain insight into the visual representation of objects and things by delineating intermediate stages of processing, neither tied solely to sensory variables nor constituting complete perceptions. To do this, we use the strategy of cognitive psychophysics: we apply the methodology of visual psychophysics to novel, complex stimulus configurations in order to explore how the spatially and temporally localized outputs of lower-level mechanisms are utilized in more global representations. This strategy has already produced some striking results. For example, a line segment is detected better when part of a pattern with perceived depth than when in a flatter pattern (object superiority). In fact, accuracy is directly proportional to subjects' judgments of the depth of the patterns used. Removing high spatial frequencies from the line segment diminishes accuracy while removing them from the pattern does not, nor do temporal (metacontrast) function change in the latter case. Another example is the phantom stripes seen in an empty opaque region that is superimposed on a striped grid. Formerly thought to require movement of stripes, phantom stripes can be seen as vividly when stationary stripes are flickered, yielding spatial frequency tuning functions similar to those obtained in other psychophysical studies. Thus, we have begun to characterize the spatial and temporal responses of low-level mechanisms that are influenced by global factors such as depth and completion. Our goal now is to pursue similar phenomena of which these are only some examples, to delineate the interactions between global and lower-level variables. This includes exploring both global influences on spatial and temporal responses, and changes in global perceptions due to manipulations of spatial and temporal responses. We hope thereby to gain insights into crucial intermediate operations between topographic retinal encoding and the perception of the meaningful visual world.